My little Swan
by PenPusher4
Summary: Swan Princess: AU..Derek is dead, Rothbart the winner and now the new king AND husband of Odette. See how she finds out that being married to Rothbart ain t as bad as it seems...RothbartOdette
1. One death and a wedding

* * *

Disclaimer: Sadly I don´t own Swan Princess

Note: This is RothbartOdette...so don´t like it, don´t read !...and english ain´t my mother tongue so please don´t be harsh or unfriendly if you find a mistake...

The flapping of giant wings echoed through the forest.

It was the only sound in the whole place except for the breathing of Prince Derek.

With a look of terror in his eyes he had shot the arrow that should mean his triumph,...and was yet the last thing he ever did.

Though the arrow went through the great animal´s wing it couldn´t care less in its killing frenzy and kept on climbing lower by the seconds.

Digging his claws in the body of its victim, it looked at the Prince through his red slitted eyes one more time. Derek could have sworn it had an triumphant, evil look on its bat face. If it were human he would have considered it as a grin. A grin which made the enormous teeth of the monster stand out of its mouth.

This teeth,... that sank themselves in the Prince´s throath to end his life.

After the gory deed had been done the bat turned its head - and so its attention - to the next human presence nearby.

Since it only had one wing left to fly, it crouched nearer on its forelegs - making it look like a fat bird - over to the lifeless body lying on the ground next to the lake.

The deathly red shine in the eyes of the creature vanished as its glance fell on the unconscious Odette; what was left was a man in a black coat and with a red beard, his eyes darting over the form of the sleeping woman, his mind already plotting on their future...

* * *

"Odette ! Wake up !"

Her head hurt as her mind slowly began to awaken, the heaviness of sleep left her, the fog over her thoughts disappearing.

She heard the faint sound of calling, not sure what was dream and what reality.

"Odette, please..".

With all her will power she carefully opened one eye, allowing it to adjust to the brightness of the room. What she saw after she was able to see clear again, surprised her to a great extent and made her open her eyes wide :

Hunched over her stood Queen Uberta, a frightened look on her old face.

The moment they made eye contact a relieved smile appeared on the other woman´s lips.

"Finally ! I thought you wanted to sleep for the nex hundredth years, like Sleeping Beauty !"

Odette´s tongue felt heavy in her mouth, she hadn´t been using it for days it seemed.

"What- why-"

She tried to stand out of her bed, but was stopped by the Queen.

"Stay. You better sit while I explain, dear. Unfortunately there´s not much time left for a long and soothing explanation...It´s-" Her lips trembled. For a moment she looked down to gather all the strength for saying the next all in one breath.

"This- this man, this _monster_...- Rothbart- he k-...he ki-" She let out a half scream, half sob.

"My poor boy ! This bastard took him aw-ay-ay !..." Another wave of tears. This time Odette wasn´t able to lend a comforting hand, as she was dealing with her own crying now.

"An-and now...he rules the kingdom...that is..he _is going _to rule it, officially..as- as the king...after this day..now.."

This actually made the blonde stop weeping. She looked up at the still crying Uberta.

"WHAT ?! But how ?"

Uberta gave her a grim look, all of her make-up messed up in her face, making her look like a clown - adding to the tragic of the moment.

"Rothbart will become the king after his wedding to the Princess...to Princess Odette..."

She said, her voice suddenly without emotion.

"Come now, I have to prepare you for the ceremony. After this task is done, I´m permitted to leave this awful place and this awful man..."

Odette´s mouth went open and shut, open and shut again - gaining her a similiarity to a fish.

She didn´t know what to say, ...neither_ to think _even...

Her mind froze, thinking stopped.

Like a doll she let herself being dressed, dead expression on her face...

* * *

Her thinking started again and she found herself in a white wedding dress, which she would have considered as the most beautiful piece of clothing ever seen, hadn´t it not been for the circumstances.

In front of her was a priest, babbling something about faithfulness, god and matrimony.

Considering the whispered noise in the background there had to be at least ten more people in the church behind her.

Far more shocking than her surroundings was the sight she was confronted with as her eyes wandered to the side, to the person next to her:

It was Rothbart of all people !

Instead of wearing the black clothes he alway wore, he was dressed in an expensive-looking golden suite, a cape of red silk hanging around his shoulders.

With a distant look he was patiently listening to what the priest told them, not noticing her side glance.

Suddenly the holy man stopped in his speech, making a sign to the butlers standing at his left and right side.

The two servants hurried away to come back each carrying a pillow; on the pillow lay a crown, heavy with gemstones and gold.

One for the king, and one for the queen.

With an important expression on their faces, they came to a halt next to the priest.

The priest took one of the crowns with the utmost care in his hands, just to place it - in the most ceremonial way possible - on Rothbart´s head. The same he did with Odette.

He made a cross sign and sent the servants away.

Raising his arms, he held his hands adjuring over Rothbart´s and Odette´s head.

"Now with the two of you crowned : I now officially declare Queen Odette - yore Princess Odette - to be the wife of our new king - King Rothbart !"

With a wink in the eye, he added.

"You may now kiss your bride."

And that Rothbart did;..and how !

Her heart stopped for a moment as she suddenly felt his lips on hers. Involuntarily her eyes shut close. Though her mind fought against it, she reluctantly wondered how it could be possible that the lips of a man - whose heart without doubt must be out of stone - were _so soft_. Before she came down to notice that his beard tickled - the kiss was over, and her eyes snapped open.

Instead of loud cheers, the pair was greeted with careful hand clapping.

But Rothbart didn´t mind.

He was cheerful enough to fill the whole church and a part of the street outside. Hooking into his new wife he did a few proud, big steps down the church floor and pushed open the gates to let the world examine its new king.

The people outside seemed to be more light-hearted - or maybe just a little bit stupid -about the whole situation :

They greeted their new King and Queen with frolicsome waves and cries of joy.

The nation simply was happy that things finally went the way they normally did. The long time without a king had made the peasants nervous and now they were more than relieved, still unknowing what they were going to endure in the next past months...

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Note: I DON´T WANT FLAMES !!...but I DO want reviews and a beta reader ;)


	2. A cheesy matter

Disclaimer: Still I don´t own Swan Princess...or any sequel of it

Note: I´ve hidden some "cheese jokes" in here, so have fun finding them ;)

Chapter 2 : A cheesy matter

Being royal ment that you always had duties - even on your wedding day.

So it occurred that the freshly married couple only had a few moments "of triumph" to show off in front of the nation, after they already had to leave for the castle again.

Important meetings with the kings, queens and dukes of other countries had to be arranged and realized. Boundings had to be re-confirmed, new political connections had to be made.

With a sigh Rothbart climbed out of the carriage, a bunch of servants already on his heels to help him change his clothes. Annoyed, he chased them away.

"I haven´t even entered the bloody castle, will you wait for a moment, dammit ?!"

Odette took malicious pleasure in this sight before she herself was surrounded by several maidens, who dragged her into the castle, into her room, for undressing and re-dressing her again for the meeting-to-be.

There, she was helped out of her wedding dress; which was beautiful nontheless, but became heavier and bulkier by the seconds, so that she was glad to change into a more comfortable, elegant blue gown. Some of the maids took hold of her crown, passed it on to a servant, who left the room with it. Undoubtedly he was heading for the family vault deep down in the castle, where the royal family´s regalia - so Rothbart´s crown too and a scepter - rested and were mostly kept over the year, only brought out to day light for important occasions, a wedding for example.

The valuable crown was replaced by another, less rich-equipped one - one could call it an "everyday crown".

Sounds of protest could be heard from another room of the castle. Obviously Rothbart didn´t like the fact one bit, that his crown - finally achieved - was taken away from him once more after such a short amount of time.

"No, you´re not - I say NOT going to take it away from me..alive !"

"Please, Sir.." One of the servants dared to speak.

"This is the common procedure. We _have_ to put the crowns back into the vault, that´s the law!"

"I´m the king, so I make the laws !"

"But this law is older than probably the country itself ! It-"

"-Wait." Rothbart interrupted him, raising a hand.

"Did I actually hear a ´´but´´ coming out of your mouth ? Are you contradicting your king ?!"

Now the man looked seriously frightened.

"No ! No, Sir ! I never intended-"

"-Stop." He interfered once again. Rubbing his temples with his fingers, he said;

"This ain´t worth it...get-..get me my other crown ! Fast !"

Like bees out of their beehive the servants buzzed away in order to fulfill Rothbart´s demand, not wishing to anger him even more. Moments later one of them returned. The young man was completely out of breath, as he had been passing several floors on his quest. Shaking, he bowed down, holding up a crown - the one Rothbart had worn from the beginning on, since the time at the Swan Lake. With an impatient look on his face Rothbart snatched it out of his fingers and placed the crown on his head; letting out a deep, relaxed breath after doing so.

"Now..."He started, a mischievous grin playing around his lips, "..let the _fun_ begin..."

* * *

After King and Queen had been properly dressed, both made their way into the entrance hall to await the arrival of their guests.

"I haven´t been a king for a day, and already I´m hating it.." Rothbart joked, with a side glance to Odette. Right now he was dressed in a royal red, the way his clothes were cut having a great similarity to his common ones.

"I mean Kings just _don´t wait _! They´re too important for that.."

Odette simply turned her head away, showing him the cold shoulder, literally.

"Then maybe you shouldn´t have married me, you bastard.." She hissed under her breath.

"Sorry - crown over my ears - what have you been saying ?"

"Oh, I just wondered who our guests are.."

"The little fat guy said something about ´´Netherland´´...King-"

Suddenly Chamberlain appeared next to them, a scroll in his hand.

"King Norbert of the Netherlands and his wife Narzissa !" He exclaimed, loudly.

At once the gate was pushed open and an elderly man and woman completely dressed in yellow entered through it.

"My dear Norbert !" Rothbart exclaimed, strolling directly towards him, completely ignoring etiquettes.

"Do I know you ?" King Norbert asked, a little taken aback about this greeting.

"No, but you definitely are going to !" He joked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Come, let me show you around ! Your journey must have been cheesy, all the long roads...

...full of holes, just like Swiss cheese, eh ? But not to worry ! Tonight I shall show you the culinary side of the country !" Patting one hand against the other kings chest, making him cough. "Though I´m afraid there ain´t no cheese in the fridge...no camembert in the chambers, you know ?"

Laughing over his own joke, the two man left; leaving their wives alone in the hall.

Odette felt uncomfortable, to say the least.

She never had attended many political meetings, but the few she had seen were so different from that, that she was almost _confirmed_ this had to be a catastrophe.

"I´m- I´m sorry Queen Narzissa-"

"No, _I´m _sorry, dear." The other queen smiled warmly. "For forgetting my manners."

She dropped a curtsey.

"Queen Narzissa of the Netherlands, wife of King Norbert. A pleasure to meet you."

Odette, relieved that there seemed to be still a change, did the same.

"Queen Odette of Swanstein - " She stopped for a moment, reluctant to say the next words. "Wife of King Rothbart. Also a pleasure."

"Now that we´re introduced to each other...how about tea and cheese cake ?"

Queen Narzissa asked, her face lightening up.

* * *

Rothbart unfortunately had to find out, that explaining something to someone - he himself didn´t knew so much about - wasn´t an easy task.

_Hey, I hadn´t been having the crown for even twenty- four hours, how am _I _supposed to know about everything that happens in this bloody country ?! Hell, I don´t even know the way to the bathroom !_

So he kept on talking; improvising here and there, adding facts, which he himself believed sounded good and such stuff.

When King Norbert asked about something he hadn´t the slightest clue about, he became a bit nervous - of course he didn´t show it.

_Show no fear. Show no sign of nervousness at all. The royals will eventually find out. They will see that you´re different, not one of them. This makes you a peasant in their eyes..._and he definitely wanted not to belong into that caste...that was Rothbart´s motto.

But to his luck - or so he thought - Lord Rogers happened to pass their way.

"Ah, Lord Rogers ! Excuse me ol´ Norbert..."

Rogers lifted a sceptical eyebrow as he saw Rothbart approaching.

"What is it that the king requires, that he actually has to turn to the _staff_ ?"

The way Rogers said it, indicated how much he "liked" Rothbart´s somehow arrogant thinking bordering to self-overestimation.

"Listen - _Rogers_." It seemed like he had just recently remembered his name.

"This cheese head here-" He made a sign over to King Norbert.

"-has some pretty tough questions...and he wants answers !"

Rogers made a grimace. He obviously had an inner struggle, wheter to help his new king or letting him fail by giving false answers. Rogers decided for the country´s sake, as false answers would only harm the bounding to Netherland, which won´t be the best for the country.

"Fine." He finally agreed.

Rothbart´s expression lightened up. Patting him on the shoulders he said;

"Good man, Rogers. Remind me to raise whatever I´m paying you..."

Rogers rolled his eyes at that.

"Whatever."

* * *

Sun had set - and so had the guests´s interest in political manners and instead turned to food.

A banquet had been prepared in honor of the Dutch in the fest hall.

Rothbart indeed stood to his word, proofed by the various types of cheese presented on the table for the guest to "feast in".

Although she wasn´t hungry, Odette managed to eat a few bites of the meal - just because of politeness of course. More she was interested in, was overhearing the conversation between King Norbert and "her husband". She admitted it; she truly had been surprised to see them interacting quite peacefully, not one sign of discomfort on both men´s faces.

With her fork hanging in mid-air and her mind focused on things she maybe wasn´t supposed to hear, she first didn´t hear the words spoken to her.

Blinking, she turned her head to Queen Narzissa.

"I´m terribly sorry - but could you please repeat what you just said ? I was somehow-" Her eyes briefly wandered back to the two kings. "- _distracted_..."

The elderly Queen just smiled, knowingly. Which confused Odette somehow.

"Completely understandable." She said, suppressing a chuckle.

"You´re _just married_...it´s perfectly normal not to be able to think straight...! And with _that husband_..." Narzissa made it sound like _he _was actually something to be proud of !

A major blush Odette couldn´t prevent crept onto her cheeks.

"Oh, no-..you understood that completely wrong ! It´s not that I-"

"_Of course_.." The older woman said with a wink.

"Can´t wait until tonight, ne ? Excited, eh ? He probably is, too. Everybody is, before _that_.

My Norbert and I have been, too...Haaah..." The woman got a dreamy look on her face.

"How long _that _had been ago..."

Odette´s face grew hotter than it should have, with images never thought of before flashing through her mind. She concentrated. Hard...on a piece of cheese.

"How did you meet, anyway ? If I´m allowed to ask.." Narzissa asked suddenly.

"Uhm...at a lake..." Odette said slightly distracted, originally intenting on eavesdropping again.

"At a lake ?" The Queen raised her eyebrows. Then a grin hushed over her face.

"With the full moon high up, eh ?"

"Uh, right..."

"Pretty romantic.."

"Eh, yes,yes..." Odette wasn´t even listening to her anymore, far too concerned with other

things.

"Of course he proposed to you there, too ?"

"Uhm, sure.."

The Queen chuckled to herself. This young lady would nod to everything she said..and so she decided to have some fun on her old days;

"And maybe it was there that he first kissed you ?"

"Hmm..."

_Just why can´t she stop babbling ?! That´s annoying !_ Odette thought, ennervated.

_I can´t hear a thing they´re saying just because of her !_

"..and then both of you swam in the lake, naked...eh ?"

"Yes.."

"After that he took you in the water ?"

"Hm-hm..."

"Also from behind ?"

"Why not ?"

Muffled laughter ripped the two kings out of their conversation.

"Darling ?" King Norbert asked, making a surprised face.

Queen Narzissa couldn´t have held her breath any longer, the laughter simply bursted out of her and unloaded in wild cackles.

"It seems _my dear wife _proved to us how funny she can be,..when she wants.." Rothbart said, a mixture of pride and sulking in his voice.

They all fell into a more or less nervous laughter, with Narzissa being the loudest of them.

"_Darling_.." Odette started, her voice dripping with false emotion, the world´s nicest fake smile on her lips - all to leave a good reputation that is.

"You_ have _to tell me your secret with handling our guests."

Rothbart - at first dumbfounded over his new "nickname" - was about to answer, when King Norbert did it for him instead.

"That is easy, my dearest Queen. This man here - your husband - is such a delightful business partner ! He showed me one important thing : Not to grow stiff, not to stagnate.

That´s why I adore his direct, refreshing manner of ruling...Who needs etiquettes when you can have him ?" The King laughed.

Odette didn´t believe her ears. What she just heard was.._impossible_.. This foreign king actually _liked_ Rothbart´s rude, crude and unprofessional behavior ?! She would have bet her castle, that the king would be faster leaving than they could say "cheese" ! ...And now that !

"Indeed very refreshing..." Norbert continued.

"This perfect team work and cooperating with the castle´s staff is amazing ! You see, Narzissa, I kept asking questions to that poor fellow, when their counsellor - Lord Rouquefort I believe was his name - showed up, to explain into even further detail ! Wonderful...simply wonderful !"

* * *

After continuing on listening to King Norbert´s seemingly endless speech of praise for the hospitaly he had experienced, their guests finally prepared for leaving.

Standing in front of the carriage that should bring them home, both kings embraced one last time.

"I would be honored to welcome you also in my kingdom, my dear Rothbart !"

"I would love to...let´s see if my schedule and wife will make it possible."

Meanwhile the wives were at a certain topic again.

"I felt his hands, my dear. They´re good hands...Take advantage of that ! But tell him, when he´s too rough..and most of all : don´t let him forget to use his tongue ! This-"

Again incredible heat resided in Odette´s cheeks.

"I- I will keep that in mind." She desperately tried to silence the woman.

"And-" The Queen wanted to start again, when Norbert interfered.

"Ladies..time to part. Goodbye Queen Odette !"

With a final wave both King and Queen of Netherland went into the carriage and drove off.

"What a day..." Rothbart chuckled.

* * *

Note: Did you find all 9 cheese jokes ;) ?..review please !


	3. Reflections in the moon shine

Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don´t own the Swan Princess...so don´t try to sue me !

Kapitel 3 : Reflections in the moon shine 

* * *

Finally.

She was alone...

The foreign guests had left, everybody had bid her good night - and most of all, Rothbart was heading for his own chambers.

_Thank God we have separated rooms..._

Since being King and Queen and having to do a lot of work all day, they didn´t have time for a shared room, nor shared bed. This was in order to guarantee full sacrifice to the country and its people. Only in their free time they were allowed for spending the time with "building up the relationship" as the counsellors so disapprovingly stated.

_Oh, I so hope I´ll be drowning in tasks for at least the next ten years !_

_Ugh !_

Even _thinking_ of Rothbart made her shuddering inside, disgusted.

_How can one man alone be able to make himself that hatable ?! That almost bordered on pure witchcraft..._which he _too_ was capable of, how she knew..

She went to the window to soothe her thoughts. The large window provided her a view over the lake and the rest of the - mostly sleeping by now - castle at night. Above in the sky the stars shone like they celebrated with the villagers this normally happy day.

But the brightest star in the sky was undoubtedly the moon, as it was full moon right now.

Odette looked up to it, almost longingly.

The longer she watched, the clearer there was a certain image to her.

What she saw on the white surface of the moon was nothing but the face of her beloved Prince Derek. Silent tears streamed over her cheeks. Despite her grief, no sound was escaping from her lips. She didn´t want Rothbart to hear, not under any circumstances.

_It would mean another triumph to that monster ! And no, I won´t give him that !_

_Just why have you lost, my love ? What cruel fate has it been, that took you away from me ?_

_Why... ?!_

_Just why was loving you such a crime ? _

_Understandable would be punishment for loving Rothbart, but you, Derek ?_

_...Poor Uberta...all alone in her castle...but at least she has got _people

_- not monster - around to comfort her..._

_...I feel so horrible !_

Odette threw herself on her bed, muffling upcoming sounds into one of her several pillows.

Crying soon sent sleep over her.

She was long time asleep, but far too deep in dreamland to be awakened by the ruffled voice on the corridor...

_

* * *

_

Haaah...that´s life..

Rothbart thought, flexing relishing under the blanket of his large bed.

_Over are the days I had to sleep on blankets or on the ground ! New times are ahead, times of pure luxury ! ...Ain´t a king for nothin´ and ain´t living twice, baby !_

A broad grin appeared on his face - only to disappear moments later.

_Oh, no ! That´s not true, isn´t it ? I- I don´t actually need _to pee _right_ _now, now at the moment of my greatest triumph ?!_

Grumbling, he tossed the fabric aside and stood up.With even more frowning he made his way to the door and entered the corridor.

Only in his boxer shorts, that is, how he reminded himself too late.

_Damn...whatever...far more important right now, is to find out _where_ my desired destination lies..._

Ambitious he did a few steps amidst the blackness of the night..just to slam against the wall.

"Howling hell hounds !" He sweared. "Where´s the light when you need it ?!"

Hitting his palm against his forehead he remembered.

"I ain´t a sorcerer for nothing, am I ?"

Triumphant, he produced a floating orb of fire in one of his hands.

"Much better...now off to the bathroom !"

Soon his pace grew in speed, as did his need in pressure.

"Need.to.find.bathroom !" He breathed between his teeth.

Behind the fifth corner Rothbart found a door that looked somehow right to him.

"Finally !" He exclaimed, storming inside the room.

Once in, he instantly froze in his motions.

The room he had accidently mistakened with the bathroom...was the maiden´s sleeping room - and a few where even undressing at the moment !

In an instant he was being chased away, screams filled with swear words and threats flying after him just like soaps, towels and anything else grabable.

Shutting the door behind his back and leaning against it, panting heavily, he stated;

"Obviously wrong..Sorry ladies !" And headed off, as fast as he could.

_Fine ! Now I´ll be remembered in the history books, as the "peeing king, who scared his people half to death by showing up half-naked" !_

One hand between his legs, the other still holding the orb, Rothbart _ran_ through the corridors on his desperate search.

And there it was ! So obviously he could have laughed, if he wasn´t already wincing in pain.

The room was signed with a smiling man´s head, next to it a door with a smiling woman - all to be politically correct.

Rothbart hurried over to the door - to find it locked. Swearing loudly he did a quick unlock spell and then impatiently smashed open the door.

"Hey, you idiot ! The door is supposed to be lock-" Chamberlain instantly stopped in his protest, turned chalk white and ran out of the room, screaming, his trousers still on the floor - what made it quite remarkable that he was able to run.

Rothbart chuckled to himself, winced shortly because the vibration was too much for the pressure between his legs, and then closed the door, satisfied.

* * *

Note: so..this was one sad and one fun part...hope you enjoyed it :)...don´t forget to review ;)


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